Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal processing for detecting a target.
Description of the Background Art
In the related art, a radar apparatus provided on a vehicle detects a target in the periphery of the vehicle, and outputs target information of the target to a vehicle control apparatus. The vehicle control apparatus uses the target information acquired from the radar apparatus and causes the vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle while repeating acceleration and deceleration so as to maintain a distance from the preceding vehicle constant. A vehicle control system functions as a system having the radar apparatus and the vehicle control apparatus and causing the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle.
However, when an adjacent vehicle in a lane next to an own lane travels on a side closer to the own lane, part other than the vehicle body of the adjacent vehicle (for example, a side mirror) may enter the own lane. The adjacent vehicle is a vehicle to travel in an adjacent lane, which is adjacent to the own lane, and for example, a vehicle having a relatively large vehicle body such as a truck. Therefore, the radar apparatus may detect the part other than the vehicle body of the adjacent vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as an “accessory portion”) as a target present in the own lane. Consequently, the vehicle control apparatus may perform vehicle control with respect to the vehicle that a user of the vehicle does not intend to with the accessory portion present in the adjacent lane as a follow-up object.
Therefore, the radar apparatus of the related art performs a process of determining whether the detected target is a target of the accessory portion such as the side mirror (hereinafter, referred to as a “mirror determination process”). When the radar apparatus determines the target to be the target of the accessory portion, the target is determined as a non-follow-up object and an output of the target information on the target in question to the vehicle control apparatus is not performed. Accordingly, the vehicle control apparatus performs the control of the vehicle aiming at a preceding vehicle within the own lane as a follow-up target without aiming at the accessory portion of the vehicle present in the adjacent lane as the follow-up object.
When there are a preceding vehicle and a pre-preceding vehicle, the radar apparatus may detect the respective targets. The pre-preceding vehicle is a vehicle present in the own lane, and is a vehicle present in front of the preceding vehicle. In other words, the pre-preceding vehicle is a vehicle at a distance from the vehicle longer than from the preceding vehicle.
When the targets of the preceding vehicle and the pre-preceding vehicle are being detected respectively, if the preceding vehicle changes a lane, the radar apparatus may determine the target of the pre-preceding vehicle as the target of the accessory portion by the mirror determination process.
If the preceding vehicle changes the lane from the own lane to the adjacent lane, the vehicle control apparatus acquires target information of the pre-preceding vehicle from the radar apparatus, and changing the follow-up object from the preceding vehicle to the pre-preceding vehicle. However, if the radar apparatus determines that the pre-preceding vehicle is the target of the accessory portion by the mirror determination process, an output of the target information of the pre-preceding vehicle to the vehicle control apparatus is not performed. Therefore, the vehicle control apparatus cannot acquire the target information of the pre-preceding vehicle even though the pre-preceding vehicle, which becomes in turn the preceding vehicle is actually present in front of the vehicle. Consequently, the vehicle control apparatus may determine that no follow-up object is present in front of the vehicle, and perform inadequate control on the vehicle such as accelerating the vehicle until the target information as another follow-up object is acquired from the radar apparatus.